What Lies Beneath
by CanceledFanficWriter
Summary: '"Bring him back!" Her voice echoed through the bustling town, where all the citizens were completely unaware at that moment what had happened and what was to happen again in the future' What has five years of hiding done? Drew x May / Harley x Solidad
1. Nightmares

"_Drew. Drew!" A teenage girl yelled as she chased the dragonite that was holding the green-haired boy who was fighting to get free. The girl launched every pokemon she had but one look at the dragonite had them forced back into their respected pokeballs. Within seconds, the dragonite were gone, Drew with them. Not even the tiniest speck in the sky was left. Her light brown hair covered her tear-drenched face as she fell to her knees and cried, "Bring him back…" She whispered to herself._

_Her eyes looked at the sky, "Bring him back!" Her voice echoed through the bustling town, where all the citizens were completely unaware at that moment what had happened and what was to happen again in the future._

!

I was startled awake as my nightmare, my memory, haunted me again as it had for the last six years. I looked at the door and saw a man with long purple hair open the door hesitantly. He was wearing a button up, long-sleeved navy blue shirt and plain navy blue pants, all made of cotton – his pyjamas.

I stared into his worry-filled eyes as he walked over to me. He reached out a hand and placed it on my head, "It's okay, hun, I'm still here. And I'm not going anywhere." He reassured me as best he could. We both knew that there was no way of being 100% sure of that, but I let his promise calm me down and soon I found myself drifting back into a slumber full of nightmares.

!

I woke again to the smell of eggs and toast. My eyes slowly opened; red from lack of sleep. I saw the purple haired man standing at my bedside, a smile on his features. I sat up and smiled back, feeling better having him still there.

As if to reassure myself, I rested a hand on his elbow. How many times had I supposedly woken from a dream and put my hand on his elbow only for it to pass through and for his physical image to slowly disperse into nothing? But this time, as many times before, he was really there. This man was something like a father to me - a second father that I had journeyed with since I was ten, which was just over ten years ago. He had lost his lover to the same flying pokemon that had taken my rival and best friend.

I slowly slipped out of bed and began to put on the same façade as I had been for the last six years, "What's for breakfast, Harley?" I asked, pretending as if the memories were only nightmares, although we both knew that wasn't true at all. The man, Harley, smiled at me, "Eggs and Toast. Sorry we ran out of bacon, May."

I smiled and told him I didn't mind and we both went to have breakfast together. We lived in the same town as where Solidad, Harley's lover and my second-mother, had been taken by the dragonite with slightly darker skin. It was a town called Cascade Town, named for its famous waterfalls that almost completely surrounded it. On one side of the town was a cliff-face where two waterfalls fell, one on each side of the town. On the other side was the entrance that had a wooden bridge run over the river. It too had a cliff face with two more waterfalls that fell on each side of the town, but there was a crevasse in the middle that allowed people to come and go as they pleased.

The town was almost completely empty save for a few people. Those few people were very closely knit but they didn't completely trust each other. Most of the people had been taken by flying pokemon that, just like the dragonite, had slightly darkened skin, feathers or fur. Harley and I lived with two girls who were like sisters to one another. One was a researcher that had been researching about the kidnapping incident since it had first started up and her name was Fiya. Her hair was curled and constantly held in a messy ponytail and was red in colour.

The other girl was named Kea and she was different to Fiya. Whilst Fiya avoided fights and helped on the sidelines, Kea was more of a front of the line fighter. She had even fought along-side her pokemon on multiple occasions when it counted most. I had seen the scars that were scattered over her body that had been given by different pokemon. Her hair was light pink in colour and was held in twin buns on the top of head and the remaining hair was tied into loops, similar to the way Nurse Joy had her hair. She also had this tendency to have bangs at the side of her fringe.

As for me, I hadn't changed much in the last ten years. My hair was still the same light brown but it no longer sat in the unusual twin-tails I had. I didn't get rid of my bandana but it spent more time on my wrist than it did in my hair. It was one of the few keepsakes I had from when life was normal, excluding my pokemon.

I held four of my own pokemon and two of Drew's, since his had been dropped when he had been taken away. The four of my own that I had was my Blaziken, Delcatty, Beautifly and Glaceon. And the two pokemon of Drews that I always kept with me was his Flygon and Roserade. Harley, like me, held four of his own pokemon and two of Solidads'. He had his Cacturne, Ariados, Charizard and Banette along with Solidads' Pidgeot and Lapras. I hadn't met all of Fiya's and Kea's pokemon, but I knew Fiya had a Gardevoir that helped around the house and that Kea had a Leafeon and Glaceon that she constantly battled with.

Swallowing the last of my food, I brought the plate to the sink and rinsed it off before placing it in the sink for Gardevoir to take care of later. I looked out the window and into the almost completely abandoned town. The sight was scary almost. Cascade Town was a beautiful area with houses to match. It used to have Beautifly and Butterfree flutter around the town constantly, through the cherry blossom trees and drinking from the clean water. However, since the kidnapping incident had hit the town almost four years ago, no stray pokemon had entered the area.

It was then that I noticed something strange. I looked in shock and horror as a human girl with beautifly wings flew from the sky and landed in a flower garden that Kea still took care of. The girl sniffed at the flower before walking over to another one.

I shakily took a step towards the window when a boy with four extra legs that looked scarily like an Ariados' came down with a dragonite holding it. The boy silently shot out a string shot attack from two fangs that were implanted on his cheeks and caught the girl. The string shot held strongly as the boy took the girl out of view.

Not even thinking, I ran into the room where Fiya did her research, knowing that I shouldn't go in there. Slamming the door open, I couldn't even get the words out before Fiya spoke, "That wasn't the first sight of something like that May. Looking at all the cameras around the Hoenn region, I've noticed some pretty strange things. Things like humans having Muk and Grimer qualities and some with Arcanine qualities etc."

Kea scoffed, "I wouldn't mind some Arcanine qualities." She murmured, mainly to herself. Fiya shot her a look, "I'm pretty sure you would mind that a lot." She corrected. Kea held her hands up in defence before looking at me. She raised an eyebrow, "Are you alright, May?" She asked as if there was nothing wrong with what had just happened. As if what had just happened was now accepted as the norm.

That almost angered me and I was about to yell at Kea when Fiya spoke up, "Six years!" She groaned, "Six years and I haven't even got the slightest clue to where these guys are coming and going from." Kea sighed, "Calm down Fiya and keep trying. You'll find it, I know you will. It has to be a town we didn't know existed, or doesn't have any security." She suggested, trying to be optimistic. I don't know what caused the thought, but I suddenly spoke up, "Have you checked the sky?"

Both girls looked at me in surprise. Fiya looked at me in complete shock, "That is impossible!" Kea however was considering the idea to my disbelief. Even I couldn't believe what I had just suggested. Kea then looked at Fiya, "Wrong, the thought would be improbable." Fiya shot her a lock, "Are you kidding me? There's no logic in that whatsoever!" Kea slammed her fist on the bench, causing Harley to get a sneak peek behind me, "There's no logic in humans having pokemon qualities, yet that's what we've been seeing for the last three years!" She yelled.

Fiya shrivelled at the sudden accusation and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the researcher. She was logical; I had known that from the moment I'd met her. She hated taking the illogical answer, but we all knew that Kea was right now. She merely nodded her head and I could see she was fighting the tears. Kea could too and she was instantly apologising for getting angry. Fiya shook her head and turned back to her computer.

I hesitantly took a step forward and continued when I received no looks. Harley was right behind me. I looked at the large computer screen and saw the cameras were being hacked all over the Hoenn region. Kea suddenly pointed at one camera screen, "Look, a kidnapping. And it's close by." She pointed out. Fiya nodded, a single tear flowing down her cheek. She plucked a pokeball from her waist and shot it out the window. A skarmory formed and sat there.

Kea smirked and skilfully pulled two pokeballs from a strap around her thighs and threw them out the window after Skarmory. I looked out to see a Salamence and an Articuno to my disbelief. Harley followed their example and released Solidad's Pidgeot along with his own Charizard. I looked at Drew's pokeball that held Flygon before releasing it after them.

Fiya pulled herself away from the computer and climbed on to her Skarmory, slightly clumsily. Kea jumped out from the window sill and slid on the back of her Salamence. Harley helped me out and I stood onto Drew's flygon who seemed to smile at me. I smiled back weakly. We were finally going to do something I realised as Harley hopped on his Charizard.

Articuno and Pidgeot launched first followed by the other pokemon that we were riding. I held on tightly to Flygon who didn't seem to mind. Fiya lead everyone eventually as she knew exactly where they were going. Kea lagged at the back to protect our behinds just in case. Pidgeot and Articuno were flying beside Fiya, just in case something happened there. And of course, Harley and I were protecting the flanks. Eventually we arrived at the location of the kidnapping. I felt sick to my stomach as we could only watch as the people were taken by the dragonite. Fiya waited patiently for them to be in sight, but not in range. Kea scoffed and launched first with her Articuno. Fiya sighed and gestured me and Harley onwards and she would be protecting the back.

Kea called out to us suddenly, "There is nowhere to hide. If you are attacked, fight with all your heart." She called as she focused on the dragonite that were still barely in sight. That's when we noticed the land in the sky. I had been right. There really was a land in the sky, powered by unknown sources. And that was also when we noticed the heavy artillery that was surrounding the land. Everyone but Kea took in a deep breath as we approached the range of the artillery.

Gatling guns began shooting at Kea as she was farthest ahead, and she gestured at us to keep back a distance. I watched in slight horror as Kea jumped from Salamence and onto Articuno, returning Salamence as she was in the air as to dodge the bullets in the air, then doing the same onto Salamence, releasing the pokemon in a safe spot and jumping to him, returning to Articuno. She was a blur as she repeated the process over and over until finally they were behind the guns.

Lucky for us, the people that lived here weren't around otherwise Kea wouldn't have stood a chance. Soon we got the signal and Fiya lead us as we approached the land. I couldn't help but notice the looks Fiya gave the land – curious looks. I stifled laughter as we landed. All the pokemon were returned and land pokemon were released. Harley released Ariados, I released Blaziken, Kea released both Leafeon and Glaceon and Fiya released Houndoom.

I looked at the grass that was slightly darker than normal grass. In fact, the whole place reeked of darkness. Everywhere I looked, it looked unusually dark. It was like they were producing an aura of pure evil. Fiya took a sample of the grass and a rose that was the same colour as blood.

We all sneakily headed towards a building that looked like a laboratory. Kea lead and Fiya lagged behind as she took samples.

"_Watch__out.__"_ I turned around and looked at Harley. He just gave me a confused look. I then looked at Fiya who was plucking a darkened daisy. I looked at Kea, even though the sound had come from behind, and found she too was distracted. I then turned my gaze towards the sky and gulped, "We have company." I told them. To that Harley looked up along with Kea. Kea released Articuno and hopped on, flying towards the numerous dragonite that had noticed us. Fiya released Gardevoir at that, "Gardevoir, use light shield." She commanded.

Gardevoir followed the command majestically and I watched as Kea alone fought the three dragonite. She had managed to get one down before Articuno took a hit that had it paralysed. I watched in horror as both Kea and Articuno began plummeting. I then noticed Salamences pokeball on the ground and my eyes grew in size. I escaped the light shield and released Flygon, flying up to Kea.

Kea slammed painfully onto Flygon. The dragon-type pokemon fell a bit before regaining its flight. The dragonite began launching attacks at us. Flygon dodged and launched counter attacks as I held an unconscious Kea.

A launch of a hyperbeam towards Flygon caused our lucky streak to die as it scratched along the side of it. Flygon screeched in pain. Then the alarms began sounding. I looked in all directions as people began emerging from buildings. Harley and Fiya quickly reacted by leaving the spot they were in and headed to the air. Fiya threw Salamence's pokeball towards me just as Kea slowly woke up.

I then noticed the numerous amounts of pokemon flying towards us. My breathing stopped.

That's when I noticed a person in the crowds of people. Someone who had clothes matching to a ralts and possibly even features that was close related.

"Max!"

!

Well, there we have it. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this fanfic. This is my first attempt at a first person fanfic, but I'm quite proud of it.

Until next time ;)


	2. Grandfather Clock

"Max!" I called again. Tears of happiness ran down my cheeks. Disaster was all around me but all I could see what my brother being pushed around. He looked different, but he was still my brother. Then I realised he was being controlled by something. There was no way he could just listen to what those guys had to say unless there was something I didn't know. No, even if they were kind-hearted, they had kidnapped so many people. There was no way Max would just accept that.

I ignored the attacks around me and launched towards them on Flygon. Max looked up at me. He was no longer the little boy I knew ten years ago. He was now a man, even if he did look like a Ralts. The people jumped away, not expecting my sudden launch. Max looked at me in confusion then I noticed that there were no pupils in his eyes. Just darkness – like this whole land. When he started using psychic on me, I decided that the only option I had was to knock him out and then take him with us.

So that was what I did. I cried a little as I held my unconscious brother, but I quickly got away from there. Fiya, Kea and Harley followed soon after and I felt guilty - guilty that I hadn't been able to help anyone. Not Fiya, not Kea, not Harley and Solidad, not my family…

Not Drew.

As soon as we found somewhere safe, I cried. I cried until there were no tears left. Even after that, I sobbed. Harley comforted me as best as he could, but he couldn't do much. I soon felt the darkness of the town overcome me as the day changed to night and my consciousness slipped away.

!

I woke to the sound of typing. I hadn't remembered Fiya bringing a laptop, but she informed me that she had taken it from the laboratory. It was fairly empty, but the data on it did explain something. There was a memo on it explaining the project that the people in this place were doing. It explained about the project of giving humans pokemon capabilities. There was also an email from a person named 'Lina' which explained the mistakes in the past - mistakes that had changed humans into pokemon.

Fiya looked at all of us as soon as she finished reiterating what was on the laptop and sighed, "Looks like Max is under the obedience drug." She informed us regretfully. I bit my lip, fighting more tears that threatened to appear. I had to be strong. If I wasn't strong, then how could I protect those who meant everything to me?

I looked at my little brother. He was bigger than me now, but he still had something that only I could see that showed his immature self. I stroked the back of my fingers across his cheek before smiling weakly.

"Guys, check this out." I heard Kea call. I looked towards her. She had found a switch in the cave we had been staying in that opened up a secret passage. How cliché.

Fiya packed the laptop into its bag before following after Kea. Harley carried Max on his back and went after her, followed by me. All I could think about was how useless I had been so far and Kea seemed to have noticed that, "Hey, it's alright. This isn't something you're used to." She told me quietly, trying to be helpful. I merely just nodded and continued forward, not saying a word.

The secret passage eventually led us inside what was like a prison cell. At first, I thought it was empty. Then I realised that there was someone in the bed, under the thin blanket. The person rolled over and Harley ran over instantly. Tears fell down my cheeks. The long pink hair that slipped out of the bed was something I hadn't seen for three years, "Solidad." I whispered quietly.

The woman woke up then and she yawned, "Harley?" She asked quietly before finally she woke up properly, "Harley? May?" She then questioned more frantically. She stood up then and walked over to me and hugged me tightly. That warm, motherly hug that I had almost forgotten flooded my senses. Tears fell like they had the night before.

It was then I noticed that Harley had stopped. His eyes were shaded and I couldn't see them, but I knew that he was probably on the verge of tears himself. I looked at Fiya and Kea who were smiling warmly. Kea then turned to look at the rusted iron. Fiya did the same and tried to find a weak spot.

Solidad took a few steps over to Harley, "Harley?" She asked quietly, hesitantly. The man merely nodded, acknowledging her presence. She smiled at that and hugged the man. Max was now lying on the bed, still unconscious surprisingly. I turned away to give Harley and Solidad some sort of privacy as I saw them kiss.

I had them back. I hadn't lost them.

Then memories flooded me. Memories of Drew being taken away. Had I lost him? I certainly hoped I didn't.

"Hey, sorry to break you guys up after your reunion, but we need a water pokemon." She inquired. Harley looked at the pokeballs before handing Solidad back her pokemon. They shared another kiss before Solidad released her Lapras. Luckily the Lapras fit fine in the cell and still gave us enough room to move around.

I looked at her face and the light in her eyes shone brighter than the sunlight on a cloudless day. Just that smile and that look made all the tears that had been tormenting me since she had been taken disappear into nothing. Solidad's voice was firm as she ordered her Lapras to use water gun. I don't know what caused it, but I then released my delcatty and ordered it to use blizzard, freezing the iron bars. Kea, catching onto the plan I didn't even know about, ordered her Leafeon to use Leaf Blade.

The bars were cut silently and were now tumbling towards the ground when Fiya ordered Gardevoir to use psychic, to keep them from making too much of a racket. Luckily for us, there were no guards in sight so we all split up. Harley and Solidad were going one way, Fiya and Kea were going another and I was going alone through the middle.

Solidad gave me another tight hug and smiled at me, "It'll be fine, I promise." She reassured me before going off with Harley to go and save all the people they could manage. Kea and Fiya gave us all a thumbs up before heading down their route, Kea eager and rearing to go. I giggled to myself before taking a breath and going my way.

It was all but silent as I walked through the corridors of the prison-like place. There was the sound of slow dripping behind me and my footsteps, but other than that there was nothing. All the cells I walked past were empty. They didn't look like anyone had been in there for a while, but then again, Solidad's cell hadn't looked any different.

I kept walking forward even though the smell was beginning to strengthen as I got closer to Arceus-knows-what. Then a sound of footsteps sounded up ahead and my breathing stopped. My fingers moved to the pokeballs on my waist as I continued to walk forward, slower now and more carefully so that my steps made as little sound as possible. My mouth went dry as the sound got louder, then quieter, then louder again – as if they were pacing.

The closer I got to the sound, the more my breathing turned haggard. I was now forcing my lungs to work as I walked as they wouldn't do so on their own. I could feel my heart racing in anticipation as the footsteps continued to pace – back and forth, back and forth. Like a pendulum on a Grandfather clock, I was awaiting for the loud dong.

It stopped and I stopped with it. The blood in my ears pounded, making it almost impossible to hear. The murky light that shone through the cell window was all I had to make out any silhouettes in the corridor ahead of me and so far, I could see nothing. All I could see was pure darkness and I think that's what frightened me more.

The pacing started again suddenly and it was then I realised the pacing wasn't coming from the corridor, but from a cell up ahead. I took another silent step forward, ignoring the urge to run and to save whoever was in that cell. Silence again. They had stopped and so had I.

"Help me!" A girls' scream. It was that dong I had been anticipating. I ran. I ran so fast that it hurt my muscles all over. The girl was holding onto the rusted iron bars, her hands bleeding from the strength of her grip. Tears and mucus were running down her face. She looked about in her 20s, maybe late teens. She also looked weak and completely out of energy.

I didn't know what to say. I just stood there and stared at her crying form. Her shoulders moved up and down as the sobs ripped her apart. And the more I stared, the more familiar she looked. Her hair was a reddish brown and was tied into twin tails – a similar style to that of Roxanne but a little different. Her face was hidden so I couldn't see it and her clothes were unrecognisable.

My hand reached out on its own and stroked her hair. It felt like wire and was almost painful to touch. At the sudden gesture, she looked up at me and realisation struck me.

"Brianna?" I asked hesitantly. I had only met her once in the past. She had confronted me before a contest about Drew. I remember her being jealous of my closeness with the man, but at that time I didn't realise how much he had meant to me. I was young and naïve. The girl, Brianna, sniffed once before nodding. I smiled at that. Even after ten years, I still recognised her.

"I'll help you, but you have to be quiet, okay?" I informed her quietly. She nodded enthusiastically and moved to the back of the cell. I took in a slow breath before releasing Blaziken and Glaceon. Glaceon mewed a little before I held my finger up to my lips, gesturing for her to be silent. I took in a deep breath and looked at Brianna, who nodded happily. She was finally going to be free after however long she had been here.

I took in a breath before pointing at the iron bars, "Glaceon use Ice Beam then Blaziken, use Blaze Kick." Glaceon eagerly followed my orders and a cold almost electrical looking beam shot from her mouth, freezing the iron bars. I quickly released Beautifly as soon as the iron bars were frozen and Blaziken went to use her attack. Blazikens legs glowed with flames as she aimed a kick at the frozen bars, destroying them successfully. "Beautifly use psychic." I commanded quietly, to which the butterfly-like pokemon caught the large bars with a telekinesis sort of power and rested them against the ground quietly, not letting them make a sound.

Brianna wiped her face on her dirty and worn clothes before running over and giving me a hug, "Thank you, May." She said in gratitude. I smiled and hugged her back, _'__I__'__m__glad__she__hasn__'__t__forgotten__either._' I thought to myself as I hugged her softly.

She pulled back and sniffled once more, one of the last she was going to do for a while, "I don't have my pokemon, they made me drop them and leave them behind." She told me in a sad tone. I smiled weakly, "I'm sure they'll be there when we get back." I reassured her. If they really did care about her like she did about them, they would be waiting for her return.

Just like Drew's pokemon was waiting for his return. My finger caressed Flygon's and Roserade's pokeballs. I could feel their energy through the red and white ball. I could feel their anticipation in my heart. They were waiting and they weren't giving up hope. Not just yet.

Brianna nodded before looking down the corridor, "I think there are more people up that way." She told me quietly. I nodded and followed her direction.

After a few moments of silence, voices began to sound from ahead. I couldn't quite catch onto all of the conversation, but what I did catch onto made me feel like they were in cells themselves, making it safe to continue. The closer we got; the more of the conversation I caught on to. Their voices weren't familiar, but they didn't sound like complete strangers either.

"We're not going to get out of here." One said. I could hear a shuffle of feet, but I couldn't quite pick on who was doing that, "Don't think like that." The other tried to reassure, although his voice didn't sound convincing. "Well, how do you think we will get out of here?" The first suddenly asked, his voice getting louder as anger began to take over.

The second was silent for a few minutes before calmly replying, "By having belief." His voice cracked. He sounded as though he was either crying or getting close to breaking into tears. The first seemed to hesitate before answering, "We've been here for five years. No one would know where to look and even if they did, this place is impossible to enter. Five years ago there were pokemon covering every inch. Who knows what they've got now." He told the second, his voice quieter now though.

"So you're just going to give up?" The second yelled now. I could feel the tension as I got closer. Brianna was holding onto my shirt weakly, like a small child. I looked down at her and the fear was clear on her face.

Both of us stopped as a third voice suddenly spoke up, "Be quiet both of you. You're giving me a headache." He told them. There was silence for a few minutes before Brianna took off yelling the name of the third man, as if the voice had stuck in her mind like it had with mine.

Tears rolled down my cheeks but my legs refused to move. I couldn't even run towards him, even though I wanted to with all my heart. So many things were left unsaid that day. I thought I'd never get the chance to tell him everything.

I made a fist as I forced my legs to move forward. I could only barely walk even though I wanted to run. It took a bit longer, but soon I could see Brianna holding onto the cell of the man that had spoken last. His eyes looked at her then they looked at me. Even though there was very little light, they sparkled more beautifully than anything I had seen since that day.

The shine in Solidad's eyes couldn't even compare to that of what was in his green eyes. My legs began to quiver before I regained my composure. I recognised one of the two people that had been arguing. One was Lance and by the sounds of things, he was the second to speak and the last to get angry. The first looked familiar, but I didn't remember him that well.

My fingers pushed onto the button on the two balls. Flygon and Roserade emerged, eager to see the man that was in the cell. I was silent. There was no need for commands to be made, because they were already carried out as the iron bars fell on the ground painfully loud. All three were now free and both Roserade and Flygon were snuggling up against the man with the green eyes.

Brianna had given the pokemon space, although she was eager to hug the man as well. I watched the reunion silently, not making a single movement or sound. His eyes scanned over the pokemon then at Brianna and finally settled on me. He took a step forward before walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. I still didn't move for a moment before finally my body reacted and my arms wrapped around him.

Tears blurred my vision as he held me, "Drew." I whispered into the crook of his neck. The man nodded. His green hair obscured my already ruined vision, but I didn't care. The smell of roses was still distinct even though it looked as though he hadn't had a proper clean since he had been taken. His hair was softer than Brianna's had been.

Drew held me for a while before finally releasing me and looking down into my eyes. I felt the urge to kiss him, but I resisted. As if it would make up for the kiss, I hugged him again, my head resting on his chest. He didn't move away but instead wrapped his arms around me again, holding me close. His nose brushed against my hair, "May." He whispered in answer.

!

Yay / So cute


	3. It's Not Your Fault

"So all of our pokemon has been taken and we have no way of getting home?" Lance inquired curiously. I shook my head, "It won't be easy, but we have a number of flying pokemon with us. Enough to fly five people back." I answered quietly. I looked over at the man that we had also rescued with Lance. His orange hair was tied in a messy pony tail that was tied high and still reached his back and his clothes, like the others, were unrecognisable. I had remembered him vaguely from the past when I was with Ash Ketchum, a boy who was aiming to be a pokemon master who had changed my opinion on pokemon.

Morrison had been one of Ash's memorable rivals and friends. I didn't remember him well, but when I looked back at the memories there were a few things that I couldn't forget - such as Morrison's habit of losing his rice balls and his temper that was worse than an angry Arceus. He had bragged to us about his metang evolving to its final stage of a metagross but, like the rest of us, it had been left behind when he had been taken by those 'scoundrel cowardly salamence'.

Lance hadn't changed much since I had met him with the quarrel between Team Magma and Team Aqua over the legendaries Groudon and Kyogre. His hair was still the same dusty pink (Although he preferred to think of it as red) but was longer now. There was still that same spike on top of his head – which I was confused to how he kept it that way in this place – but there was a layer of hair underneath that which sat just below his collar. According to him, before he had been taken he was still the Kanto Elite 4 champion and still had his infamous red gyarados and overpowered dragonite along with a new capture of a green bagon that had evolved into a shellgon before he had been taken. He had planned on training it to evolve into a Salamence but was taken before he could achieve his goal.

As for Drew, he looked very much the same as when he left, save for his hair growing a little longer. His hair was the same light green as it had been when he was taken and his messy locks covered his eyes when he walked. The length cut off just over his shoulders. His eyes were shaded at that moment as he walked at the back of the group, lagging behind casually with his hands in his pockets. He looked up as soon as I realised that I had been staring and our eyes locked. That look in his eyes – I couldn't pick up on what emotion it was showing.

So I quickly glanced away and faced the front like I had before to see Morrison fighting with Lance again. As for Brianna, she was lagging behind me but in front of Drew. Every time me and her exchanged glances, I could see that she wasn't sure about Drew anymore, but she wasn't exactly ready to just let him go. I sighed to myself almost silently and Lance shot a look at me. Even though I could feel his gaze on me, I didn't look up from the ground.

Then everything went silent. I looked up to see Morrison and Lance had stopped. I looked at both of their faces and they were staring in fear at whatever was ahead. I squinted my eyes, hoping it would help look at what they were seeing. I then felt arms around me that pulled me away with unusual strength.

A darkened flame shot past me, singeing my hair. Whilst the fire was still blazing, I looked towards the source. The small amount of lighting caused by the flame created a silhouette of a houndoom to form. I looked back to see Drew, staring at the silhouette too.

Then the alarms sounded. Red lights flashed from bulbs I hadn't even seen before with the dull light. Lance suddenly called out at that, "Quickly over there, look!" He pointed to a pathway to where pokemon were emerging from. I turned around and saw a steel-enhanced barrier had dropped behind us, blocking the entry. And in front of us was only a dead end. That was the only place we could go.

Drew reached into his pocket and pulled out the pokeball holding Flygon. I released quickly both Delcatty and Blaziken. Dozens of houndooms poured out of the tunnel that had opened up. I didn't waste any time, "Blaziken use overheat!" I commanded with passion. "Flygon use Dragonbreath!" He called out a nanosecond after. My blaziken released a stream of flames, mostly coloured yellow, towards the houndoom, knocking them back into the wall. I knew that Overheat got weaker with each attack, so I was glad that it hit most of them back.

Flygon's dragonbreath was a green stream of flames that pushed the houndoom that overheat had missed into the wall. I then noticed that the door was closing slowly. I pushed Brianna forward and before she could protest, Lance had her wrist and was pulling her with him. Drew and I returned our pokemon before chasing after them. Lance and Brianna had managed to get through perfectly fine, but the door was about halfway closed now. Drew grabbed me and slid underneath, successfully making it through.

We all panted in relief. I looked at Lance who was leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath. Brianna held in the tears that threatened to fall and I was lying against Drew, listening to his short breaths. Then realisation hit me, "Where's Morrison?" I asked in fright. I looked back at the now closed door, encasing us all in darkness.

Then the screams and yells sounded. I released Blaziken and commanded him to use blaze kick at the wall, but it was all futile. None of the attacks was even doing any kind of damage against it. Drew tried combining attacks with me, but we only managed to chip away the tiniest bit before there was an eerie silence. The houndooms growled at each other and then we could hear it.

Brianna covered her ears in terror and Lance tried to enhance the blocking-out-sounds tactic by putting his own hands over hers. I clenched my fist so tightly that blood dripped down my arm from the cuts my nails had caused.

The sound of flesh being ripped from the bone and the growls that emerged from the houndoom, signifying ownership. Tears formed in the corner of my eyes and I felt arms wrap around me in a warm and reassuring embrace, stronger than any hugs that Harley had given me. His lips were at my ear and the smell of roses overcame my senses, "It's not your fault." I heard him whisper. His breath was shaking as he didn't move away. I nodded weakly, but I didn't believe what he had said. If I had been watching more closely…

I shook the thought away. The more I thought about it, the more images popped up in my head of Morrison being eaten by those… demon pokemon.

I took in a deep and shaky breath, "Alright, we should get going. Who knows what'll happen if we just sit here." I swallowed back the bile that was building in my throat, not wanting to appear weak right now. I took the first step, hoping that they were following since I couldn't see.

Then an eerie silence followed as we all walked to wherever the corridor led. I imagined that all of us were thinking about what had just happened. I opened my mouth, thinking that light conversation would distract our imaginations, but I couldn't come up with anything to say. Everything that came to mind seemed a bit ignorant to the fact of Morrison dying. Then it hit me.

"We'll meet up with Harley, Solidad, Kea and Fiya and see if they know anything. Fiya's bound to know something." I stated quickly, almost incoherently. Silence followed afterwards before Lance caught on with the idea behind the light conversation, "Even if she does know nothing, maybe she can come up with a theory about what we have found out. Fiya's good at that." He stated in reply, bringing up a few questions in my head.

"You know Fiya?" I asked curiously. I imagined Lance had shrugged before he spoke, "I know of a Fiya that's a researcher." He merely answered, not exactly sure, "If it's who you're referring to, she's good at this." He concluded. I smiled inwardly. That was reassuring slightly. I only knew little about Fiya, but it seemed as though Lance knew more and the way he said it was really reassuring.

Brianna suddenly spoke up then, "It's light!" She called out excitedly. I looked forward and sure enough in the distance was light. I looked around then and smiled knowing that I could see everyone now with the slight glow that reached this far. I looked to the back of the group and saw Drew there, lagging behind as usual, probably deep in thought.

I couldn't tell with Lance and Drew, but it seemed as though we were all washed with relief at the sight of light. I looked over at Brianna who was being held back by Lance just in case what we were seeing wasn't that safe after all.

And sure enough, when we walked into the room, we were showered with light – and we could feel eyes staring at us. Drew finally took leadership and walked in front of the group, looking at the closed door in front of us. As for me, I just looked at the ground and saw we were standing on a typical co-ordinator stage. Everyone but Drew turned as the door behind us closed.

Then the door in front of us opened, showing a regular human girl. I didn't recognise her immediately, but Lance seemed to know her, "Sabrina?" He inquired, unsure. The girl looked up. I then realised that she was older than she looked. Her hair was dark green, edging towards a blue colour. She wore a red kimono with gold trimmings and around her wrists were handcuffs that looked futuristic. They had a green glow that showed through the cracks of the metal I presumed.

The woman glared at us and suddenly I felt like I was being controlled. I managed to move my gaze to my hands and I could see the slight purple tinge surrounding my body. Then I saw the ground move away from me.

"Brianna!" I tried to look at Lance as he called out the girls' name, but it hurt to look that way without turning my head. I tried to force myself to break out of the spell and somehow managed to get control on my head. I looked down and saw Brianna was still on the ground, staring at Sabrina in horror. She was still completely in control and was trying to step back, but she was frozen with fear. I continued to try and break from the psychic that Sabrina was using, using every ounce of control I had.

I didn't have much time. Who knew what Sabrina was planning and I did not want to find out. If she had psychic pokemon attacks, then she could really hurt Brianna if not kill her. And after seeing what happened to Morrison, I wasn't too sure if they would even hesitate.

I had control of my arms then and didn't bother breaking the rest out of the spell as I reached for Delcatty's pokeball. "Delcatty, take the stage!" I called out, feeling a bit nostalgic with the area in mind. A string of pink light emerged from the pokeball and hit the ground, forming into a silhouette of Delcatty before her actual form appeared. Delcatty called out her own name before standing in front of Brianna, protecting the frightened girl.

"Delcatty, use blizzard quickly!" I called in command. Delcatty took an attack stance and quickly shot out a blast of snow and wind towards Sabrina. All of this happened too quickly for Sabrina and she took the full blow of the attack although somehow managing to avoid getting frozen solid to my disappointment.

However, the psychic attack was rendered useless after the attack so all three of us landed on the ground painfully. Brianna ran over to Lance only to be pulled back by another psychic, focused fully on her. I ran towards Brianna, but I wasn't in reach when she was thrown into the wall with full force and knocked unconscious. Drew ran ahead of me and nursed Brianna. Not wanting to risk another person getting hurt, I quickly commanded Delcatty to use assist, praying that it would be a useful attack.

Delcatty's hand glowed white for a moment before a white string shot out and wrapped around Sabrina, holding her in place. Using that moment of distress from the psychic woman, I quickly commanded Delcatty to use sing to put Sabrina to sleep. The rainbow musical notes danced out of Delcatty's mouth as she began to sing beautifully. The rainbow notes floated gracefully over to Sabrina before popping on her head, sending the woman to a peaceful sleep.

I panted in relief before returning the large cat and running over to Brianna, who was still unconscious. Lance was also there, trying to figure out what to do. It was then that I remembered that people were watching this, as if it were entertainment. I looked out the glass panels and sure enough, dozens of people with masks over their faces were watching us. I stared back at them, not sure what else to do at that moment.

Then I saw some familiars wink at me. I hid my smirk as Harley and Solidad sat there among the crowd, just waiting for the right moment. Drew lifted Brianna on his back and looked at me, "Don't bother with them, we have to go on. If this is all a game, then I'm all for participating." He quickly told me with a smile on his face. Arceus, I had missed his smile.

We ran through the second corridor to the next room, also with people watching us as if they were an audience. Expecting another sudden attack, we were surprised when a person wearing a lab coat walked through the door, applauding us, "Excellent, absolutely excellent. I'm surprised you managed to defeat Sabrina. She was my best subject." She congratulated with spite. I swallowed at that and tried to keep Drew back with the unconscious Brianna.

The woman smirked devilishly, "My, protective aren't we? You humans from the land disgust me." She spat at us, her voice dark with revenge. Another girl walked in after her, younger and supposedly more playful with the bounce in her step but her face held the same anger, "The land land." She corrected.

I looked over at Lance, who was obviously enraged. He was the one that spoke up then, "What's our home got to do with anything?" He asked; his voice scarily calm. The first woman laughed unkindly at that, "We who live here are the insane. We escaped and went somewhere where no one could possibly find us until you came along." She answered with another evil smirk.

"You_are_insane! What are you doing to these people?" I turned around to see Drew, glaring at the two other people. The second girl jumped forward, her speed outstanding, "Excuse me, I don't think you want me hurting your girlfriend." She threatened quickly before grabbing my throat and holding me up. I choked at the sudden grip and tried to pry myself free, but her strength matched her speed perfectly.

"Now Lia, don't be so rough with them. They just don't understand like the rest." The first woman reminded; her voice sickeningly kind. The second girl, Lia, scoffed before throwing me on the ground. I coughed and I swear blood had fallen from my lips after the rough treatment, but I pretended it didn't affect me as I stood up shakily.

"Protective _and_ persistent. We need someone like you in our army. Oh woops, I said too much." She said quickly. I turned around and saw Sabrina, awake and free now, standing in the doorway we had come through. I felt my senses tingling and suddenly I had no control again. I tried to overpower the sensation, but I was already weak as it was and all my attempts had proved futile. I felt tears grow and fall from my eyes. I had failed again to protect those who meant everything to me. I couldn't do anything right after all.

"Oh no you don't!" I heard the familiar voice and suddenly I was falling. I landed on a heap of cold feathers then noticed that I had actually landed on Articuno - Kea's articuno to be exact.

Fiya ran through the doorway then, pokeballs in her hand. She smiled brightly, "We have Lance's pokeballs and Brianna's too." She called out happily, running clumsily, "We saw you guys on the camera's and thought we should go grab them. Sorry we took so long!" Her voice was bright with optimism and I smiled as Articuno let me down.

Before the pokeballs could properly return to their owners, they were taken. A boy with blue hair fell from the ceiling from what looked like an aipom tail. He quickly grabbed the pokeballs and jumped acrobatically to the two girls, "Master Nia and Master Lia, the plan has been carried out as you requested." He reported as he handed the pokeballs to Lia, who poked her tongue at us.

We had been fooled all along. Everything had been a plan. I looked to the doorway and saw a houndoom walk through with a clump of orange hair in its mouth. Nia tsked, "You enjoyed your meal rather thoroughly, didn't you?" She said in a happy voice. I felt sick again at hearing her somewhat praise the houndoom – one of the houndoom that had eaten Morrison.

A girl with nine tails emerging from her backside and white fox ears walked in then, "We couldn't find the man with purple hair, the girl with pink hair or the brother of the girl," she gestured at me, "over there." She reported quietly and emotionlessly, "But we are still searching so don't lose hope." She concluded before leaving, not even listening to Nia's praise.

I then got a closer look at Nia. Her hair was the same shade of brown as mine but was cut short and neatly and her eyes were crimson in colour – the same colour as blood. As for her attire, all I could see was a lab coat that reached her knees and black jeans underneath that. The other girl, Lia, was wearing a pale green singlet with pastel yellow arcanine-like marks on the front of it and a white mini skirt that fluttered around with black arcanine-like marks. She also didn't wear any shoes or anything on her feet, leaving them completely bare but the marks were there as well. Her hair was white and unusually long, reaching her ankles and her eyes were a bright orange. I took a wild guess and assumed she was similar to that of an arcanine.

The boy with the aipom tail had bright purple eyes and also had the aipom ears protruding from his hair. He simply wore a white shirt and purple jeans with no shoes - like Lia.

I looked back at Sabrina who was using a psychic attack to keep our hands around our back. I stared in horror at the controlled girl. Then I heard a genuine laugh, not coming from the enemies but from someone on our side. I looked over to Kea and Fiya, and saw both of them were completely unaffected by the psychic. Fiya was typing on her laptop and Kea was smiling – genuinely.

Kea took a step forward only to fall over. I widened my eyes as blood fell from the back of her head and then at the iron bar that was now falling on the ground. I then noticed that Fiya had vanished and there was a hole beneath her. Nia cursed at that, "Dammit, I thought she'd be more connected to the Kea girl. Oh well, Kea was our biggest threat anyway. She can be dessert. That can be her last honour."

Tears prickled at my eyes as Kea was taken away by Lia, holding her weight easily. I tried to break from the psychic but I couldn't come up with any strength whatsoever. Then a hole appeared under me and gravity took over. I bit my lip as I fell, trying not to scream from the sudden speed. I finally hit the bottom and groaned in pain.

'_You__can__'__t__just__stay__here__May__-__quickly.__'_ I thought to myself, mustering up the strength I did have to crawl out of the dark hole on the other side, "May, honey, thank goodness you're okay!" I heard the familiar voice and almost jumped in his arms. Harley grabbed me and pulled me in an embrace. I then noticed that everyone else was here – including Drew. I hadn't even realised that he had already been saved.

Drew just gave me a smirk and I felt my heart flutter – how cliché, "Took you long enough, May." He mocked; his smirk playful. I smiled and held up my finger, "I did come and save you after all." I justified, but his smirk only grew, "You must need me then." He retorted. I poked my tongue at him before realising that Kea wasn't here. I looked at Fiya, who was typing unusually quickly, "Where's Kea?" I asked, now a bit worried.

Fiya stopped and winced slightly, "Eevee can't seem to locate her." She merely answered, still typing after the slight stumble. I swallowed and looked down the hole, "Should we go look for her?" I asked, although I knew it would be a stupid idea.

I looked back at Fiya when silence followed. Then I saw the crystal tear fall down her cheek, "No, she wouldn't want us risking our life for hers'. Her pride is on the line here." I clenched my fists, "Her life is on the line, not her pride!" I yelled in answer but Fiya just was silent. Harley put his hands on my shoulder to stop me from doing anything stupid.

Drew just looked at me, but I ignored it. I knew that there were tears falling down my cheeks and there were plenty more following, but that was the least of my problems. Fiya shook her head again after a moment, "We're going back now. Eevee found Kea's pokeballs, so Brianna is currently in possession of them." She merely concluded, walking towards the only spot where the heavy artillery had been removed.

I shoved Harley away from me in anger even though I wanted his support right now. We were actually leaving without Kea.

We walked in silence towards the edge of the sky land, avoiding all guards and pokemon successfully. There were a few other people with us that had come with Harley and Solidad I supposed, including my brother who was still unconscious. I recognised a few of them but I didn't know exactly where.

"Go Dragonite!" I heard Lance call before jumping on the dragon pokemon. It was only then I noticed that we were at our destination. Drew rested a hand on my shoulder before releasing Flygon. Drew climbed onto the dragonfly like pokemon before holding a hand out to mine. I looked at him and he merely gave me a blank look, but I noticed the tiny blush that was on his cheeks.

I took his hand and climbed after him. Hesitantly, I wrapped my arms around his waist as Flygon lifted from the ground. I looked around and saw everyone had a ride back to Earth – back to the 'land land' as Lia referred to it.

I took one look behind us before we flew back to the Earth peacefully. A tear fell from my eye and sparkled behind us as the land vanished from sight in the distance. My hold tightened around Drew and I felt one of his hands over mine.

I rested my head against his back and I heard his voice, "It's not your fault." I felt reassured then. I nodded and smiled weakly.

'_It__'__s__not__my__fault.__'_ I repeated in my head.

'_It's not my fault.'_

!

Naww. I'm so sorry Morrison! Forgive me!

Not finished yet ;)


End file.
